Dispensing apparatus



June 11, 1946. c. v. D] PIETRO DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 1, 1942 V5 Sheets-Sheet 1 MENTOR. Car/762 0 [.Fzfllezra.

/2 WZLW June 11, 1946.

C. V. Dl PIETRO DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 1, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2June 11, 1946. c. v. D] PIETRO DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 1, 1942 5Sheets-Sheet 5 June 11, 1946. c. v. DI PIETRO 2,401,915

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 1, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 11, 1946.c, v. D] PIETRO 2,401,915

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 1, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. E YCarmela l/zz lsira Patented June 11, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEDISPENSING APPARATUS Carmelo V. Di Pietro, Birmingham, Mich.

Application December 1, 1942, Serial No. 467,547

10 Claims. 1

This invention relates to drink dispensing de vices and moreparticularly to such devices including instantaneous carbonators andrefrigcrating apparatuses, and is in part a continuation in part of myapplication Serial No. 289,984, filed August 14, 1939, issued March 13,1945, as Patent 2,371,431.

An object of the invention is to provide a carbonator in which pressure,time, temperature and mixing conditions are such that maximum absorptionof carbon dioxide gas by water is obtained under varying dispensingconditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide an instantaneouscarbonator from which fluid can be drawn at any rate desired fullycharged with carbon dioxide gas and at a desired low temperature.

Another object of the invention is to provide an instantaneouscarbonator'in which water and carbon dioxide gas are mixed and flow toan outlet faucet so that the water is saturated with the gas.

Another object of the invention is to provide an instantaneouscarbonator through which refrigerant in a mechanical refrigeratingsystem flows without causing frosting back in the return line.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carbonator device inwhich shells and a water coil are arranged so that refrigerant flowingbetween the shells serves to cool charged water, plain water anddispensing faucets for the charged water and the plain water.

v Another object of the invention is to provide a carbonator device thatwill thoroughly intermingle water and carbon dioxide gas in definiteproportions.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawings, which form a part ofthe specification, and in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevationalview of a refrigerated beverage dispensingdevice incorporating the invention.

Fig. 2 is a. top plan view of the dispensing device stationed on afountain.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the carbonator.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the carbonator partly broken away andwith the cover cap removed. 7

Fig. 5 is another elevational view of the carbonator, partly broken awayand with the cover removed, and the station on which it is mounted.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the carbonator taken on line 6-45 of Fig.3.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the structure shownin Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the metering rings.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the header and displacement memberremoved from the carbonator.

' 2 Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form ofcarbonator.

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, showing amodified dispensing device in 5 which ice refrigeration is utilized.

Referring now to the drawings by characters of reference, the carbonatorsystem includes generally a source of water l0 under pressure, a sourceof carbon dioxide gas II, a mixing and metering device l2 for the waterand gas and a storage device l3 for the mixed water andgas.

The storage and mixing device form a unitary structure which will bereferred to as a carbonator. Two shells I4 and I5 are arranged intelescoped spaced relation and are substantially coextensive. In theform of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 9, the outer shell l5 has'atop wall I6 from which a neck l1 extends and the inner shell M has aninverted cup shaped bottom wall I8 having a depending flange I9 forminga continuation of shell l4 and extending slightly below the bottom ofthe shell IS.

The mixing and metering device for the water and the gas has a body 20that is suitably secured beneath the shells and closes the bottom of thespace 22 between the shells. The bottom wall i8 and the body 20 form achamber 2| that communicates with the chamber 22 through means of agroove 23 in the body. Flange I9 extends into this recess but isassembled short of the bottom thereof so that the mixture of water andgas can pass thereunder in flowing from chamber 2| to chamber 22. Theupper end of shell I4 is spaced from the top wall ii of shell l5 so thatthe mixture of water and gas can pass from chamber 22 into the top ofchamber 24- interiorly of shell l4. Shell 14 is substantially filledwith stainless steel wool 25, or some similar material, having theefl'ect of attracting and holding the free gas in minuteparticles sothat they will not rise to the top of the chamber.

The mixing body has a gas inlet recess 26 connected by passage 21 withan interior annular chamber 28 from which passages 29 lead to the 45mixing chamber 2|. The body is also formed with an inlet recess 30 forthe water that is connected by passage 3| with chamber 32 forming areduced diameter continuation of chamber 28. A

threaded tube 33 screws into the body chamber 32 50 and leads into thetop of mixing chamber 2|,

such tube serving also to seal the gas chamber 28 from the water chamber32. The shell I is free in the shell l5 and the bottom wall I8 thereofrests on the top of tube 33, thus the vertical 55 adjustment of the tubein the body 20 will regulate the space between the bottom of shellflange l9 and the bottom of groove 23.

Means is provided in chamber 2| for creating violent turbulence orchurning of the water and 60 gas when intermingled for the purpose ofspeeding up the time required to saturate the water with gas to such anextent that the action takes place substantially instantaneously andwithout the aid of mechanical apparatus. Such means comprises a diskmember 34 and rings 85 stacked between the disk member and the top faceof the body 20. Turbulence of the water can be obtained by forming thedisk member so that the water flowing therefrom is divided into minutestreams that are directed to minutestreams of gas so that upon contactthe turbulence is increased. The disk member can have passages orgrooves therein that can be formed by knurling the peripheral face 39that has a close fit with the inner wall offlange l9. The water flowingthrough these grooves will criss-cross and flow from the disk member inmany intersecting directions so that the streams are broken up withconsiderable force to provide violent agitation of the water flowing tothe rings. The rings are of slightly less diameter than flange l9 toform a mixing space and at least one of the ring faces has minutegrooves 40 thereacross, which can be etched therein, and gas will flowthrough such 7 grooves into the churning water. The gas is di rected toflow in a direction normal to the direction of water flow and this gasforce further breaks up the water streams and increases the turbulence.To further increase the turbulence, the grooves 40 can be curved asshown in Fig. 8 so that the force of the gas contacting the chumingwater will cause rotation of the mixture. The mixture of churning waterand gas will pass under flange IS in groove 23 to chamber 22 and willcontinue churning until it passes into the storage chamber filled withsteel wool. This wool is dense enough to prevent released gas bubblestherein from rising and consequently they will be picked up and be drawnfrom the chamber 4 in chamber 5| and the inlet end extends into headermember 55 that is secured over shells I 4,

- l5 and 50, such header member forming the head wall between shells l5and 50 and projecting into chamber 51 to contact the head end spiralcoil of tube 54. This portion of the header member projecting intochamber 5| serves as a filler means for displacing refrigerant in thechamber beyond the head end of coil 54. The coiled conduit section 54is'connected with the source of water supply by conduit 56 fixed to theheader member. The bottom outlet end of conduit 54 extends into apassage in. base member 52 and it communicates with conduit 45 throughconduit 51.

Chamber 5! is in series with a conventional mechanical refrigeratingsystem. The refrigerating system has a compressor 58 driven by motor 59and a condenser and liquid receiver 60. Liquid refrigerant flows fromthe receiver through outlet conduit (ii to the bottom of chamber 5| andrefrigerant flows out of the top of chamber 5| to the compressor throughconduit 52 in which is arranged asuction pressure control valve 0. Thecoiled tube 54 through which the water flows lies in chamber 5| in whicha desired quantity of liquid refrigerant is maintained by the expansionvalve 90 controlled by a thermostat 9| engaged with the mixture withoutbecoming collected in the top of the storage chamber. Thus, without theaid of mechanical apparatus, the water and gas are churned so that thewater is substan tially instantaneously saturated with gas and is somaintained until drawn ofi from the storage chamber. The tube 33 extendsthrough the disk member and nut 36 is screwed on the tube to hold thedisk member and the rings 35 clamped against the top wall of the body20. This nut has a circular bottom flange 31 engaging the top face ofthe disk to provide a seal so that gas in the lower portion of themixing chamber cannot pass into the upper portion of the mixing chamber.The disk and nut thus partition the mixing chamber into separated waterand gas receiving portions or sections. The tube 33 can have outletopenings 38 so that water can flow through the tube into the uppersection of the mixing chamber above the disk member.

The gas flows from container ll through conduit 42 to fitting 43 that isscrewed into recess 26 in the body 20, and a check valve 44 is arrangedin the fitting. Water flows into recess 30 in the body from conduit 45connected thereto by fitting 46 in which a check valve 41 is arranged.This conduit 45 is connected to communicate with the source of watersupply Hi.

It is desirable to introduce the water into the carbonator at arelatively low temperature and to keep the carbonator and the mixturetherein at a'constant low temperature. To this end, a shell 50 istelescoped on shell I5 to form an outer chamber 5|. The lower ends ofshells l5 and 50 fit into a base cover member 52 that closes the bottomof chamber 5! and serves as a support for body 20 that is securedthereto by bolts 53. A section 54 of the water conduit is spirallycoiled against conduit '52. The refrigerant in the outer chamber willcool the chambers interiorly thereof,

the mixing and metering device and the header member which are inthermal contact with the shells. Thus, the water and the mixturedispensed from the carbonator will be maintained at a desired lowtemperature, and due to the arrangement, this is so even when there is ahigh rate of flow from the carbonator provided the cooling surface andthe compressor are of sufllcient capacity.

A valve housing 63 containing a spring seated valve 64 can be interposedin the gas conduit 42 for controlling flow of gas through the conduit tothe body. The valve has diaphragm 65 fixed in the housing and isconnected to be influenced by pressure in the water supply conduitthrough the provision ofa conduit 66 therebetween.

When the water and gas mixture flows from the carbonator storagechamber, pressure is relieved, the valves 44 and 41 will open andpressure in the conduit between valve housing 63 and the mixing chamberis relieved so that the diaphragm 65 is moved by pressure of the waterin conduit 86 to unseat valve 64. When the storage chamber in thecarbonator is closed, pressure-of the spring and carbon dioxide gas willclose valve 64. This valve control by the water pressure will insurethat the water and gas will flow into the mixing chamber in constantproportional relation. The relation of water and gas is maintainedrelatively constant by means of restriction in the water passage 45 andgas passages 21 and 2.9, and the knurled space between flange l9 anddisk 34 and the grooves in disks 35. The check valves 44 and 41 willclose when the faucets are closed.

The carbonator can be arranged to dispense the mixture of water and gasfrom the storage chamber, drinking water, or beverages'conslstagechamber 24 and through neck H to faucet III.

In this same embodiment of the invention, there is a tube I4 in thestorage chamber 24 through which the water tube 13 extends. Tube I4 hasan inlet end sealed to the bottom of the storage chamber 24 and theupper end extends through neck I'I into a chamber I6 in fitting I5 thatscrews on the neck. Openings 200 are provided in the bottom portion oftube I4 through which carbonated water flows from the storage chamber. Acap member I30 is secured in leak-proof relation on the upper end oftube 13 and is held in place by cap screw 13!. Conduit I32 con nectsfaucet III with the interior of cap member I30.

A conduit 11 leads from chamber 16 to faucet II and syrup is supplied tosuch faucet by conduit I8 leading from a source of supply I9 underpressure, or the syrup can flow by gravity to the faucet from acontainer III as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, such containerbeing in thermal contact with the top of the carbonator. Water and gasmixture from the carbonator and syrupwill flow through faucet Ii when itis opened. Chamber I6 is connected with faucet I2 by conduit 80 and,when open, water and gas mixture from the carbonator storage chamberwill be dispensed. The plain drinking water will pass throughrefrigerated zones in passing through the carbonator, and as thedispensing faucet therefore is in thermal contact with the headermember, the water drawn from the faucet will have a substantiallyconstant low tempera ture. The carbonated water and beverage faucets arealso in thermal contact with the header member so that the drinksdismnsed therefrom will be maintained at a constant low temperature. Thesyrup conduit I8 is preferably in thermal contact with shell 5% along aportion of its length. The syrup can be further cooled by passing acoiled portion of conduit 78 through a chamber 92 forming an enlargedportion of the return refrigerant line 62. The suction control valve H0will maintain any desired temperature and an equalizer tank 133connected with the refrigerant return line 62 will prevent short cyclingof the compressor. 7

The bottom wall W of shell I4 is sealed to tubes 13 and I4 and rests onthe top of tube 33. The axial adjustment and securement of tube 33 willthus determine the vertical position of shell It and the space betweenthe bottom of flange l9 and the bottom of groove 23. This adjustment hasa part in regulating the rate'of water flow into chamber 22. grooves inthe rings 35 controls the metering of gas flowing into the water.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 10, the outlet tubeI00 for the carbonated water extends downwardly from the bottom ofchamber 24 and through the water tube 33 and the body 20 of the mixingand metering device. Such tube I80 can extend to a remote faucet (notshown). In this form of the invention, water can pass from the coupling69 to a remote faucet (not shown) if desired.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 11, the carbonated waterflows from the storage chamber through tube I 00 as in Fig. 10. Thewater supply conduit 56 has a coiled portion I50 that connects directlywith the inlet tube 45 leading into body 20. The gas inlet conduit 44leads into the body 20 and the water and gas are metered and mixed andstored as previously described. Valve device 63 is arranged in the gasThe size and number of thetravel together and through the steel wool.

conduit and water in conduit 58 is connected therewith by pipe 66 tocontrol gas flow as previously described. The carbonator, coiled watersupply conduit I50 and the body 20 can be housed in a container orhousing I52 filled with ice or with liquid cooled by a mechanicalrefrigerating system.

In each form of the invention, the shell I4 is substantially filled withstainless steel wool and the mixture of water. and gas flows into thetop of the shell and out from the bottom of the shell. The carbonatedwater will pass through chamber 22 from the bottom to the top and thendown through the storage chamber so that the water will become fullysaturated with gas and will remain so because of the length and time ofThe refrigerated chambers also serve to maintain the water saturatedwith the gas. j

The carbonator can be held by a bracket 94 fixed to a fountain 95, andthe faucets can be arranged above the drain shelf 96. The faucets andthe connections thereto aboveithe header member'can be enclosed by a cap91. The faucets being in thermal contact with the refrigeratedcarbonator structure will cool the dispensed fluids passing therethroughso that the temperature of the dispensed fluids will be constant.

When the carbonated water faucets are closed. valves 44 and 41 willbeclosed and carbonated water will flow back thru disks 35 to the gascheck valve. Upon opening such faucets causing a pressure drop in thecontainer, the gas pressure will clear the gas passages of carbonatedwater that has backed up to the check valve. The amount of gas enteringthe device is influenced by this condition. However, when the rate ofdraft is rapid, there will not be sufficient time between the drawing ofdrinks to permit the soda water to back up to the check valve thru thevery small grooves in rings 35 and other passages to the check valve.This condition will permit a greater volume of gas to enter thecarbonator in relation to the amount of water that enters thereinthereby making it impossible for the water to absorb all the excess gasunder that temperature, pressure and time element which would result inleaving a gas pocket in the container that would have to be expelledthrough the faucet causing a fpop-off. In order to overcome thiscondition the capillary tube 93 will reduce the quantity of gas enteringthe carbonator in proportion to compensate for the difference betweenslow and rapid rate of draft. This capillary or restrictor is insertedfar enough from the carbonator to permit the installation of a largertube between that and the carbonator which will always have suflicientgas of the correct pressure to supply the proper proportion of gas whendrawing intermittently at a slow rate.

The refrigeration of the carbonator structure provides and maintains thetemperature of the fluids in the interior as desired regardless of therate of draft. The water and gas are thoroughly and proportionatelymixed and so maintained because of the mixing device and the travelthrough the wool. The rate ratio of waterand gas is maintained by waterpressure, check valves and restrictors to flow.

What I claim is:

1. A carbonator comprising three telescoped shells spaced from eachother and forming three chambers, the innermost and intermediatechambers being in open communication at their head ends, a mixing devicefor water and carbon di- 7 oxide gas in communication with the baseporlion of the intermediate chamber, refrigerating means in the outerchamber, metal wool substantially filling the innermost chamber, a dis-2. In a carbonator, a pair of telescoped shells forming a chamber, aspirally coiled water tube in the chamber having its ends extendingex-'- teriorly thereof, head and base cover means on the ends of theshells, a mechanical refrigerating system connected in circuit with thechamber to maintain the chamber substantially filled with liquidrefrigerant, and means projecting from the head cover means into thechamber filling the space beyond the head end coil of the tube, and areservoir chamber for the mixture of water and carbon dioxide gassurrounded by the refrlgerated chamber, the refrigerant leaving'therefrigerant chamber through the filler means and entering at the otherend of the chamber and the water entering the tube through the fillermeans.

3. In a carbonator, an inner shell open at the top and having a bottomwall with a depending peripheral flange, an outer shell telescoping theinner shell, said outer shell having a top wall spaced above the openend of the innershell and an open bottom end, said shells being spaced,a body fixed to the bottom of the outer shell and having a groove in itsupper face into which the inner shell flange extends, a water tubeadjustable vertically in and projecting above the top of the body, thebottom wall of the inner shell being supported on the top end of saidtube and the adjustment of said tube in the body determining the spacebetween the flange of the inner shell and the base of the body groove, awater passage in the body communicating with the lower end of the tube,passages for carbon dioxide gas in the body and opening below thebottom" wall of the inner shell, a partition member on the tube portionabove the body and substantially the same diameter as the interior ofthe flange of the inner shell, and gas metering rings between the bodyand the partition member, said rings being spaced slightly from theinner shell flange. i

4. In a carbonator, a mixing device comprising chamber structure havinga circular wall, a

member in the chamber having a peripheral knurled face engaging thecircular wall, a source of water under pressure leading to one face ofthe stacked ring members adjacent the outlet face of the knurled member,said rings being of slightly less diameter than the circular wall to 1form a mixing space and at least one of the abutting faces of the ringshaving grooves therein curving thereacross, and a source of carbondioxide gas leading to the inner ends of the grooves in the ring member,criss-cross nature 'of the 8 scoped shells forming three coextensivechambers, the inner and intermediate chambers communicatingat theirtopportions, means for refrigerating the outer chamber, means forintroducing a mixture ofcarbon dioxide gas and water into the bottomportion of the intermediate chamber, and a carbonated water outlet opento the bottom portion of the inner chamber. .6. A carbonator comprisingthree spaced telescoped shells forming three coextensive chambers,

the inner and intermediate chambers communicating at their top portions,means for refrigerating the outer chamber, a mixing device for water andcarbon dioxide gas communicating with the lower portion of theintermediate chamber, and a water pipe connected with the mixing deviceand extending through the outer refrigerated chamber.

7. A carbonator comprising three spaced telev the inner shell spacedfrom the bottom thereof to form a mixing chamber for carbon dioxide gasand water, said mixing chamber communicating with the .bottom of theintermediate chamber and the inner and intermediate chamberscommunicating at their top portions, means refrigerating the outerchamber, a water supply tube connected with the mixing chamber andextending through the outer chamber, and a carbonated lweater outlettube leading from the inner cham- 9. In a carbonator, a pair oftelescoped shells forming an inner carbonated water storage chamber andouter chamber, a water tube spirally coiled in the outer chamber andcoextensive therewith, head and base cover members on the ends of theshells, a mechanical refrigerating system connected with the outerchamber, a carbon dioxide and water mixing device connected with theinner chamber and the outlet end of the coiled water tube, meansentirely filling the space in the outer chamber between the head endspiral coil of the water tube and the head cover, and a restrictedrefrigerant outlet means formed by the filling means and the head.

10. In an instantaneous carbonator, a storage chamber for carbonatedwater, dispensing means leading from the chamber, a metering and mixingdevice forcarbon dioxide gas and water communicating with the chamber, asource of carbon dioxide gas, a source of water under pressure, conduitmeans communicating with the source of water and the device, a one-wayvalve in the water conduit means opening in response to pressure drop inthe chamber, conduit means connecting the source of gas with the device,said gas conduit means including a portion of smaller diameter adjacentthe source of gas than the portion adjacent the device, and a one-wayvalve in the larger diameter portion of the gas conduit means, saidsmaller diameter portion of the gas conduit means restricting gas flowto reduce the quantity of gas supplied to the carbonator when the draftis intermittently at a slow rate.

CARMELO V. DI PIETRO.

